Window shopping has fewer followers. As the sales end on Tuesday, the balance sheet looks catastrophic for traders. Set back three weeks because of the coronavirus, the sales were a complete flop with sales down sharply compared to last year. Guest from Europe 1, Francis Palombi, the president of the Confederation of French Traders (CDF), still wants to be optimistic and relativizes the failure of the sales.
"On average, 30% less turnover across the country"
"On average, there was a worse result than last year, but not systematically. I mainly represent the independents and I put together a survey which gives about 30% less turnover on the 'whole country,' explains Francis Palombi.
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"There are good results in certain regions of the north and results that are not necessarily satisfactory further south," explains the president of the CDF. "We are in a phase of declining turnover." According to the Ile-de-France Chamber of Commerce, 87% of traders have sales significantly lower than last summer's sales. In Paris, Félicienne saw the latter drop by 30 to 40% compared to last year in her household linen store. Cécilia, a shoe saleswoman, managed to do better thanks to good communication but above all because she "increased the discounts. From -70 to -80% or even more".
Shift balances, a contested choice
For Sandra, who runs a women's clothing store in Paris, the sales fail in part because of the dates. "It was a bit ridiculous to have them put on July 15. Everyone was gone already. We should have put them in as usual and we would have finished all our stocks." A choice that Francis Palombi, himself, "maintains and assumes".
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"We asked for this postponement and we obtained it from the minister because overall the independents could not, after two months of closure, start again on discounts at - 50%", explains the president of the CDF. For him, "the sales this year, whatever the date, could not be exceptional".
A general phenomenon of deconsumption
Indeed, it is about a broader phenomenon of "deconsumption, because there are fears: the fear of social plans, the concern for the re-entry", analyzes Francis Palombi. Proof of this is, according to him, that after the deconfinement, "throughout the period, there were promotions, private sales, and there was a decline in turnover which was maintained, almost until at sales, with between minus 20 and minus 40% ".
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The objective now, after these mediocre balances, is to "keep a good hope and to make a success of the return". This involves the organization, in October, of a "trade week to highlight traders. Real trade is built day by day and not just through major promotions", concludes Francis Palombi .